ed sway.

A glance at the condition of affairs in Scotland in the years
immediately prior to this event will be instructive. In 1557, as a
result of Knox's rebuke of the Scottish nobles for their hesitancy in
forwarding the Reformed faith, the "Confederation of the Lords of the
Congregation" was formed, and its members subscribed to the first of
the five Covenants that played so important a part in the religious
history of Scotland. In this Covenant, those subscribing bound
themselves to "maintain and further the blessed Word of God and His
congregation and to renounce the congregation of Satan with all the
superstitions, abominations and idolatry thereof." To the general
declaration were appended two particular resolutions, in which was
expressed a determination to further the preaching of the Word, in the
meantime, in private houses, and to insist on the use of King Edward's
Prayer Book in parishes under the control of subscribers to the
Covenant. By these same Protestant lords and commoners the first
official order, authorizing for their own parishes a form of Reformed
worship in Scotland, was issued in these terms:--

"It is ordained that the Common Prayers be read weekly on Sunday, and
other festival days, publicly in the parish Kirks with the lessons of
the Old and New Testaments conform to the order of the Book of Common
Prayer."

It is generally conceded, and the judgment is supported by the
references to it in Scottish history, that this Book of Common Prayer
thus authorized was the second Book of King Edward the Sixth.

From the year 1557 until the arrival of Knox in Scotland in 1559 this
was the Book commonly used in parishes where the Reformed religion
prevailed. It disappeared, however, as so much else of a foreign
character disappeared, in the course of the national Reformation,
giving place to the Book prepared by Knox and then commonly known as
"The Book of Our Common Order" but now frequently referred to as
"Knox's Liturgy." This was originally the work of Knox and four
associate reformers living in exile in Frankfort-on-the-Main, and the
history of its origin is interesting. It had been required of the
English refugees living at Frankfort, as a condition of their being
allowed to use for worship the French church of that town, that they
should adopt the Order of Worship of the French Reformed Church. To
this requirement the majority agreed, but, some objecting, it was
finally determine